Jim Venkman
JimWinston Zeddemore (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" (1991) (DVD ts. 03:40-03:45). Time Life Entertainment. Winston says: "Aqui Hay Demonios. Here there be demons, Jim." Venkman (voiced originally by Lorenzo Music and later by Dave Coulier) is Dr. Peter Venkman's father and is also a known to be a con man, however not a very good one. History The Real Ghostbusters Jim Venkman has dabbled in various commodities of questionable nature, none of them lasting for long. Still when one con fails, he's back in the game almost immediately with a new angle. He was never there for his wife nor son, Peter. He was always away during Christmas on business trips and thus, Peter eventually became indifferent to the holiday.Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Xmas Marks the Spot" (1986) (DVD ts. 02:27-02:35). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "He always gets grumpy about this time of year. Christmas isn't Peter's favorite season. His father was always away at Christmas. That affects ya after awhile." In the 1980s, Peter has since re-evaluated his attitude toward Christmas and has reconciled with his father. He's still wary when Jim shows up, as it usually means his dad is about to try roping the team into another one of his get rich quick schemes again. Jim appeared in New York selling "Venkman's Ghost Repellers" but they don't do a thing as tested by using Slimer as a bull. The Repellers were simply a red poncho. Jim felt no one was getting hurt by the con and there weren't any laws about ghosts to break. Peter assured them the Repellers would put give him perpetual litigation problems due to their last name being used and the connection to ghosts. Jim promised to stop but he sold one last batch of Repellers to Dr. Mulch for his expedition to the New Jersey Parallelogram. Three days later, Jim learned Mulch's expedition was missing. He felt guilty and raced to the East River Marina, rented a speedboat, and sped off to the Parallelogram to save Mulch. The Ghostbusters and the Coast Guard saved the expedition but Jim was stranded deep within. The guys returned and saved Jim. Jim ended up in northern Alaska selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Jim randomly stumbled upon the block of black ice that imprisoned Hob Anagarak. He wanted the Ghostbusters to remove Hob from the ice and trap it. He planned to put it on exhibit in the lower 48 states and make a fortune with his Eighth Wonder of the World. The Ghostbusters refused to help and neutronized the ice block. Jim anticipated this and secretly swapped the ice block with a fake one. He and Dr. Bassingame partnered together bring Hob out of dormancy. Hob Anagarak was released in Madison Square Garden but it escaped containment and caused massive property damage to New York City. Jim was volunteered to take part in an Eskimo ritual for binding spirits as the required trickster.Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Cold Cash and Hot Water" (1987) (DVD ts. 18:40-18:42). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "And one must be the trickster." Peter paid all of Jim's fines and ordered him to go back home to Iowa and live an honest life on the family farm.Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Cold Cash and Hot Water" (1987) (DVD ts. 20:42-20:44). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Look, you go back to Iowa and settle down."Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Cold Cash and Hot Water" (1987) (DVD ts. 21:07-21:08). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "I sent him back to the farm." Instead, he took a bus destined for Hollywood. It isn't known if Jim was able to sell the movie rights or not. Years later, Jim presented the Ghostbusters with another scheme to get rich by finding a treasure in Mexico. Ray and Slimer go along but soon get trapped. Then the rest of the Ghostbusters came and helped out. Despite what happened, he still wanted to forge on. Since the Ghostbusters' flight to Mexico had to paid for somehow, they went along. However, the treasure turned out to be a slumbering god, Quetzalcoatl. Once the Ghostbusters froze it, Jim agreed to make up a story to dissuade others from looking for the legendary treasure. He told the story and flirted with airline attendants on the flight home. NOW Comics Peter told Shannon Phillips how his father was a con artist who could never con anyone. And he still resents his father never being there for him or his mother when she passed away. This resulted in Peter harboring a rather negative attitude towards Christmas. Relationship with Ghostbusters In The Real Ghostbusters, it is shown that Peter doesn't get along well with his father but does care about him. The rest of the Ghostbusters seem to like him to a degree, and are pretty civil to him. But they don't really trust him. Description Jim dresses similar to a vaudeville-era con artist stereotype. He and Peter do share a slight family resemblance, both possess the same chin and facial features. However it appears Peter got his hair from his mother's side. Jim has been known to either wear a rather unconvincing toupee on occasion. It's also possible to be just a bad comb over. Personality Jim is not a bad person, he just can't make an honest buck. He has an outgoing personality sort of like his son Peter. He seems to care about his son even as he tricks and cons him. He causes conflict to all around due to his nature. The fast talker element of Peter's personality is definitely inherited from Jim. Peter still displays a significantly higher degree of personal ethics than his father, as his knack for fast talking isn't directed towards defrauding others, just talking the team's way out of trouble, getting them the best business deal possible, and making himself look good to prospective women. Trivia *In the call sheet for "Venkman's Ghost Repellers" and "Cold Cash and Hot Water", Jim is listed as "Pops."Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Venkman's Ghost Repellers" (1986).Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Cold Cash and Hot Water" (1986). *"Charles Conrad" Venkman is his name in the fan fiction writing community. The name "Charlie" was brought into use by fan fic writer Shiela Paulson. Fritz added the middle name "Conrad". Fritz later changed the name to "James Charles Venkman" to better match animated canon (as "Jim" is a common nickname for James, and "Charlie" for Charles).Ectozone-Fact List:Dr. Peter Venkman Charles Conrad was also the real name of Apollo 12 Astronaut Pete Conrad. *Jim went to Hollywood to sell the movie rights to the Hob Anagarak incident. In Extreme Ghostbusters "Back in the Saddle, Part 1," it was revealed Peter did something similar, after the Ghostbusters was closed down for good, but for another Ghostbusters movie. Both appeared to be unsuccessful. *On page ten of Ghostbusters Issue #3, Jim Venkman appears on an ad for Hob Anagarak. *On page 19 of Ghostbusters Issue #7, behind the cards is a miniature refrigerator with tag reading "From Dad," in reference to Jim Venkman selling refrigerators to Eskimos at the end of "Venkman's Ghost Repellers". *On page four of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #10, Jim makes a non-canon cameo at the celebration. *On page 18 of Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #2, in panel 1, Jim makes a non-canon cameo above the bed in a picture frame. **The image is from the newspaper Janine brings to the guys in "Cold Cash and Hot Water". Appearances Ghostbusters *Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular (Film Novelization) **Pages 155 and 156 The Real Ghostbusters *"Xmas Marks the Spot" **Jim is mentioned. *"Venkman's Ghost Repellers" *"Ghost Busted" **Referenced only. **After the call about swampland for sale, Peter thinks it was his dad.Peter Venkman (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Ghost Busted" (1986) (DVD ts. 02:35-02:36). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Probably my dad." *"Cold Cash and Hot Water" *"A Ghost Grows in Brooklyn" **Peter mentions his father.Peter Venkman (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "A Ghost Grows in Brooklyn" (1986) (DVD ts. 09:50-09:51). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "My dad used to sell that door to door." *"Transylvanian Homesick Blues" **Peter briefly mentions his dad.Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Transylvanian Homesick Blues" (1987) (DVD ts. 11:37-11:40). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "It's times like this that I wish I listened to what my Dad used to tell me." *"The Ghostbusters Live! from Al Capone's Tomb!" **Peter mentions his dad after getting into a car crash.Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Ghostbusters Live! from Al Capone's Tomb!" (1989) (DVD ts. 21:02-21:11). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Aah, I'm fine, Dad. Can I borrow your car for Prom tonight? I...I promise I'll get it back in one piece this time." *"The Haunting of Heck House" **Peter tells a story to Slimer of his first camping trip with his dad, when he learned there is never anything too big to handle.Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Haunting of Heck House" (1990) (DVD ts. 08:40-08:43). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "It's like the time my dad and I went camping the first time!"Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Haunting of Heck House" (1990) (DVD ts. 09:52-09:55). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "And that's when I learned a very important lesson..."Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Haunting of Heck House" (1990) (DVD ts. 10:16-10:18). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "That there's nothing too big for you to handle." *"The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" References Gallery Collages JiminColdCashandHotWaterepisodeCollage.png Primary Canon JimVenkman06.jpg|As seen in "Venkman's Ghost Repellers" JimVenkman07.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" 052-02.png|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman08.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman11.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman12.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman14.jpg|As seen in newspaper in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" CharlieVenkman3.jpg|In Alaska in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" ColdCashAndHotWater23.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman09.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman10.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" CharlieVenkman4.jpg|In Madison Square Garden in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" 052-13.png|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman13.jpg|As seen in "Cold Cash and Hot Water" JimVenkman15.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" TheTreasureOfSierraTamale20.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman16.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman17.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" CharlieVenkman2.jpg|In "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman18.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman19.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman05.jpg||In "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman20.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" JimVenkman21.jpg|As seen in "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" Secondary Canon CharlieVenkmanIDW3.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters Issue #3 DeanYeagerJenniferCharlieVenkmanIDW7.jpg|Miniature refrigerator in Ghostbusters Issue #7 JimVenkmanIDWV2Issue10.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #10 JimVenkmanGetRealIssue2.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #2 Category:Minor character Category:RGB Characters